The results of "Naruto Top 99," the first worldwide character popularity poll for "Naruto," have been announced. In conjunction with this announcement, Kishimoto Masashi, the author of the original manga, has released newly drawn illustrations of the top 22 characters. In addition, a new manga focusing on Namikaze Minato, who won the first place, will also be drawn. “NARUTO" is a ninja action manga series by Kishimoto Masashi that was serialized in "Weekly Shonen Jump" from 1999 to 2014 and completed in 72 volumes. The story follows the main character, the ninja Uzumaki Naruto, as he overcomes deadly battles with rivals and past fates in his quest to become the Hokage, the chief of the village of Konohagakure. The series is highly popular not only in Japan but also overseas, with a total of more than 250 million copies of the comics sold worldwide, including digital editions. Currently, the sequel "BORUTO -NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS-" is in development, as are "Naruto: Sasuke Retsuden Uchiha no Matsuei to Tenkyu no Hoshikuzu" and "Naruto: Kinoha Shinden Yusake Ninpocho", which are comic adaptations of the original novel. The anime started on TV Tokyo affiliated channels from 2002, and it was broadcast as "Naruto: Shippuden" deom 2007 to March 2017. In October 2022, the 20th anniversary of the TV broadcast will be celebrated. In addition, a total of 11 animated feature films have been released. In addition to numerous apps, games, and goods, exhibitions, 2.5D musicals, music festivals, and kabuki performances have also been held. This was the first time in 11 years that a character popularity contest had been held for a work since the 7th Popularity Poll in 2011. For the first time, the poll was conducted online for the entire world, with approximately 4.6 million votes cast. “Namikaze Minato," which became overwhelmingly popular in all regions of the world and among all ages, took the prestigious first place, followed by "Uchiha Itachi" in second place. "Haruno Sakura" came in third place, who made an amazing catch-up in the final stages of the competition. For the final results of the top 100 and below, of those who narrowly missed making the "NARUTOP99" list, as well as other special data such as rankings by generation, please check the special webpage. In addition, the short manga of the top-ranked character by the original author, Kishimoto Masashi, will be drawn in the volume of a "reading manga" with more pages due to the high expectations from fans all over the world. As well as that, to commemorate the announcement of the "NARUTOP99" results, LINE stamps of the top 22 characters featured in Kishimoto's illustrations are now on sale. We will keep an eye on the "NARUTOP99" related developments, including the continuation of the reading manga. (c) Kishimoto Masashi, Scott/Shueisha

The third stage play adaptation of the manga "Jujutsu Kaisen", "Stage Play Jujutsu Kaisen 0 WITH LIVE BAND" was announced to be performed in Tokyo in December 2024 and in Osaka in January 2025. A teaser visual featuring Ogoe Yuki as Okkotsu Yuta and Fujita Ray as Geto Suguru was reveiled. "Jujutsu Kaisen" is a dark fantasy manga serialized in Shueisha's "Weekly Shonen Jump" by Akutami Gege. It depicts the battles between Jujutsu sorcerers who exorcise curses born from negative human emotions. The series with 27 volumes issued has surpassed 90 million copies in cumulative circulation. The anime's first season aired from October 2020 to March 2021, and in December 2021, the first movie, "Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie," was released, boasting a staggering 26.5 billion yen in global box-office revenue. The second season, the "Hidden Inventory/Premature Death" arc and the "Shibuya Incident" arc, broadcast from July through December 2023, marked both domestic and international success. The production of the sequel, "The Culling Game" arc, and the release of the movie adaptation of the second season's "Hidden Inventory/Premature Death" arc have been set for 2025 With the original manga concluding in Weekly Shonen Jump on September 30, 2024, the excitement around the series continues to build." This third stage adaptation, "Stage Play Jujutsu Kaisen 0 WITH LIVE BAND", was announced in the September 9, 2024 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump. The story covers the prequel episode Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School and will be performed with live music, a first for the series. The newly released teaser visual confirmed that the protagonist Okkotsu Yuta would be played by Ogoe Yuki, and the worst of all curse users Geto Suguru would be played by Fujita Ray. Ogoe is a versatile actor with leading roles in various stage plays and in TV shows and movies. This will be his first appearance in the Jujutsu Kaisen stage play. Meanwhile, Fujita, known for his powerful voice and acting skills, has been taking on the role of Geto since the first performance of the stage adaptation. "Stage Play Jujutsu Kaisen 0 WITH LIVE BAND", the third stage adaptation of the manga "Jujutsu Kaisen", will be performed in Tokyo in December 2024 and Osaka in January 2025. Stay tuned for more details. Stage Play Jujutsu Kaisen 0 WITH LIVE BAND Based on: "Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School" by Gege Akutami (Shueisha Jump Comics) Script: Kiyasu Kohei Director: Kobayashi Kensaku Schedule: Tokyo in December 2024, Osaka in January 2025 Cast: Okkotsu Yuta: Ogoe Yuki Geto Suguru: Fujita Ray and more (C) Akutami Gege / Shueisha, Stage Play "Jujutsu Kaisen" Production Committee